Affinity Tutorials

[My Strawberry Monkey]

Hi all,

 

If you haven't already go and check out this list of tutorials from Affinity TV to enhance your skills and knowledge of Affinity Photo & Designer and take them to the next level. Don't forget to subscribe to stay up to date.

 

 

AFFINITY DESIGNER TUTORIALS

 

1. How to create album artwork

 

2. Create slides for Keynote/Powerpoint

 

3. Create artwork on your phone & edit in Affinity

 

4. Web Design & Prototype 

 

5. Create a business card

 

6. Create an email signature

 

7. Create a logo & animate using Motion & Final Cut (In this we create something similar to a Google advert)

 

 

AFFINITY PHOTO TUTORIALS

 

1. How to swap out a face

 

2. Select & change the colour of a car

 

3. Using mockups 

 

4. Compositing images

 

5. How to place a logo in perspective

 

 

 

Allan

[Kalense]

Where is the tutorial that explains each of the tools? I can't work out what the little arrow does, for example - the tool beneath the open hand. It draws a box, then when you release the click, it vanishes. How frustrating is that?

[MEB]

Hi Kalense,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

The video tutorials above were created by Allan (@mystrawberrymonkey) and cover different subjects using Affinity software.

For more Affinity Photo tutorial videos (official) please check this thread. They are also available on our website and Vimeo channel.

 

The "arrow" tool is the Move Tool. It's used to select and transform (scale, rotate, skew etc) layers/objects.

 

If you have more than one image/layer/vector object on your document, click over them in the canvas to select them for further manipulations.

It's also used to transform objects, for example: pick the Rectangle Tool and draw a rectangle, then change to the Move Tool (the arrow).

Since the object still remains selected after you have created it, you should see eight control handles (plus one on the top) which you can use to transform the rectangle using the Move Tool. Place the cursor over them and drag to transform it. Each of those handles perform two actions depending where the cursor is:

- if directly over the handle, dragging will scale/stretch the object;

- if you place the cursor near one of the corner handles or middle handles from the outside you should see it changing to a rotate or skew icon. Clicking and dragging and this point will perform those actions instead.

[Kalense]

Thanks for this. It helps. But you mention, for example, layers. In Photoshop you click Ctrl+J to duplicate a layer and it is easy to see and manipulate layers and their masks. I've no idea how to do that in Affinity. The "Layers" tutorial assumes that you already have a set of layers to work on. Not helpful.

 

I'm really floundering without a simple set of "how to"s.

 

There seems to be no more logic behind the current sequence of videos than there is in my attic. It starts with Maximum Stacking, followed by Global Cloning, then Subtle Toning and Multiple Colour Formats, and continues with Panoramas and Stacking: Noise Reduction.  This is such a jumble, with no key to explain what's in them, and they assume so much familiarity when what is lacking is a really basic map of how to use the software, that I've got completely frustrated with them - and worse, with Affinity Photo. 

 

In short, I find everything so much easier in Photoshop (which is expected, since Affinity is new to me) but so little in the way of structured guidance that I'm rapidly losing my patience with Affinity. I'm coming up to the end of my 10 day trial, and so far there is nothing pulling me from your side to convince me not to continue to pay the hateful monthly license to Adobe.

[MEB]

Hi Kalense,

Have you taken a look at the Help file? It covers extensively all the tools/features of the program with step by step instructions. It should give you the structure/reference you're looking for. We are continuously adding new videos and improving their organisation too, so hopefully things should get easier as we move forward. If you have any specific questions please post them here in the forums. There's plenty of knowledgeable users and staff ready to help.

[anon1]

I'm really floundering without a simple set of "how to"s.

 

There seems to be no more logic behind the current sequence of videos than there is in my attic. It starts with Maximum Stacking, followed by Global Cloning, then Subtle Toning and Multiple Colour Formats, and continues with Panoramas and Stacking: Noise Reduction.  This is such a jumble, with no key to explain what's in them, and they assume so much familiarity when what is lacking is a really basic map of how to use the software, that I've got completely frustrated with them - and worse, with Affinity Photo. 

here is a well sorted list of the vimeo tutorials 

 

by default (and probably by design) the videos on the vimeo channel are listed with the latest uploads first

 

but the beginner tutorials are a while back so you´re now seeing the more advanced tutorials first which might be the reason for your confusion (totally reasonable)

 

I think when you start of with the structured list linked above and you look for keywords that catch your interest you'll get into the Affinity workflow pretty fast!

I do personally use 99% PS tutorials to discover new techniques and in 99% they translate without problems into Affinity once a few things are sorted out.

[pjglad]

Try these links 

 

http://www.miguelboto.com/affinity/photo/photo.html

 

https://www.udemy.com/affinity-photo-101/

[James Ritson]

Thanks for this. It helps. But you mention, for example, layers. In Photoshop you click Ctrl+J to duplicate a layer and it is easy to see and manipulate layers and their masks. I've no idea how to do that in Affinity. The "Layers" tutorial assumes that you already have a set of layers to work on. Not helpful.

 

I'm really floundering without a simple set of "how to"s.

 

There seems to be no more logic behind the current sequence of videos than there is in my attic. It starts with Maximum Stacking, followed by Global Cloning, then Subtle Toning and Multiple Colour Formats, and continues with Panoramas and Stacking: Noise Reduction.  This is such a jumble, with no key to explain what's in them, and they assume so much familiarity when what is lacking is a really basic map of how to use the software, that I've got completely frustrated with them - and worse, with Affinity Photo. 

 

In short, I find everything so much easier in Photoshop (which is expected, since Affinity is new to me) but so little in the way of structured guidance that I'm rapidly losing my patience with Affinity. I'm coming up to the end of my 10 day trial, and so far there is nothing pulling me from your side to convince me not to continue to pay the hateful monthly license to Adobe.

 

Hi Kalense, thank you for your comments, I'll try and address some of them:

 

Regarding the video order, if you are looking on Vimeo then these are unfortunately organised in chronological order (newest first) which we have no control over. What you can do however is look at the separate Affinity Photo channel which has an ordered structure here: https://vimeo.com/channels/875980

 

Also, if I could point you to the "In-house Affinity Photo Video Tutorials" thread at the top of this forum, that also presents a structured list of all the tutorial videos available.

 

You will also find a large amount of information in Photo's Help, including an entire section on Layers, and you can also find topics on every tool under Workspace - Tools. This video demonstrates how you can hide the table of contents and have a help topic open whilst you work alongside your document/image.

 

We are constantly working on the documentation of the software, and a handbook tailored more to basic principles and functionality is being worked on. There will also be more videos appearing, some of which will address the functionality that users are struggling with in more detail.

 

Hope that helps,

James

[My Strawberry Monkey]

Ok, well I guess this one went off track.  :unsure:

[Travelling Man]

It is never easy to switch. Some try but are really looking for reasons not to. It perhaps helps justify costs/subscriptions etc.

[My Strawberry Monkey]

It is never easy to switch. Some try but are really looking for reasons not to. It perhaps helps justify costs/subscriptions etc.

 

I guess so, it does require some perseverance and determination to learn anything new. Certainly worth it though and a great support network on here. Affinity is still at an early age and no doubt is developing in to something even better than it already is.

 

 

Allan

[Travelling Man]

Affinity rules ok and will continue to do so. I have Adobe CC and have not used PS in weeks. The judgement call now is whether to kill my membership but I do need LR, until Affinity brings out an equivalent (ish) :-)

[Madame]

Affinity rules ok and will continue to do so. I have Adobe CC and have not used PS in weeks. The judgement call now is whether to kill my membership but I do need LR, until Affinity brings out an equivalent (ish) :-)

 

I agree with you, Travelling Man... But do you know you don't need a membership to have Lightroom.

They still have a standalone version.

[MendipBlue]

The number and variety of tutorial available for AP has really impressed me. Before I'd bought AP I'd only seen a couple of the tutorials but since buying I've been working my way through what's out there on the various video sharing sites and it's really helped me to understand and then apply some techniques that I would otherwise have missed, in particular the technique of adding a high-pass filter layer and doing sharpening on that layer.

[Travelling Man]

I agree with you, Travelling Man... But do you know you don't need a membership to have Lightroom.

They still have a standalone version.

Thanks Madame, I did know that but have not yet looked at its cost :-(

[bgriswold]

I have to say it is completely obtuse as to how to use a image channel as a mask. I have no clue from the interface as to how to do this.  This is pretty basic a need to proper photo/illustration image editing, why make it so hard to figure this out?

[James Ritson]

Hi bgriswold, have you watched the in-house tutorials at all? The Channels video explains how to do this, it's simply a case of right clicking your desired channel on the Channels panel and choosing "Create Mask Layer". Hope that helps.